0949 Understanding the How, Who, and When of Sleep Health Communication Among Black Adolescents

Abstract Introduction Black adolescents disproportionately experience insufficient and suboptimal sleep, yet little is known about how intergenerational and community communication shape their sleep experiences and sleep health literacy. This study examines the how, who, and when of sleep health communication among a sample of Black adolescents and how these practices influence their sleep beliefs and experiences. Methods Using in-depth interviews, consented/assented participants ages 11-17 who self-identified as Black/African American were recruited in Columbus, Ohio, from the NCH Primary Care Network, Care Connection (School-Based Health Clinics), Adolescent Medicine Clinic, Science Education Outreach program, and the NCH Marketing/Public Relations Team. The interviews captured insights into participants’ sleep environment, sleep beliefs, sleep habits, communication about sleep, and awareness/availability of sleep resources. Interviews were conducted over Zoom between May 2022 and May 2023, with recordings transcribed for formal thematic analysis using Microsoft Excel. Results The sample included N=21 US Black/African American adolescents who were 14 ± .15 of age on average. Half of the sample was female (n=11), and 90.9% of our sample reported they were not employed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (n=20). Three main themes were identified from the results: 1) how sleep conversations occur (modality, settings); 2) who initiates sleep conversations (healthcare providers, family members, other adults); and 3) depth and scarcity of sleep dialogue (limited dialogue, non-existent dialogue, contextual drivers of dialogue). Study results illuminate a dearth of meaningful sleep conversations occurring across home and community settings, with adolescents commonly only having brief conversations about sleep with their pediatrician annually. Conclusion Addressing intergenerational sleep health conversations calls for multilevel health communication strategies to make sleep a routine topic within families and the broader community. Future efforts should focus on developing culturally grounded, scalable approaches to enhance sleep health communication and improve long-term health and well-being. Support (if any) This project was funded by the Society of Pediatric Psychology. Additional support was provided for MD’s effort, in part, by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health during her K01 award 5K01HL169493.